Deborah Stipek

Deborah Stipek
Deborah Stipek
Judy Koch Professor of Education, Emerita, Graduate School of Education,
Stanford University

Deborah Stipek is the Judy Koch Professor of Education, emerita, in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. She serves as faculty director of the Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME) and formerly served as faculty director for Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) at Stanford GSE. Stipek previously served as dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She was a member of the board on Children, Youth, and Families at the National Research Council for five years; chaired the National Research Council Committee for Increasing High School Students’ Engagement and Motivation to Learn; and directed the MacArthur Foundation Network on Teaching and Learning. She currently chairs the Heising-Simons Development and Research on Early Math Education Network. Her books include Motivation to Learn: Integrating Theory and Practice and Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning. She received her PhD in developmental psychology from Yale University.

updated 2025

Publications by Deborah Stipek
The Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) aims to improve early childhood education quality, assuming quality can be measured and ratings correspond to learning outcomes. A review of the California QRIS found weak associations between ratings…
Challenges and Opportunities in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom prioritized early childhood education with new funding. However, sustaining and building on preK progress remains challenging. PreK–3 alignment has shown to be effective in coordinating standards, curricula,…
Evidence from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier Voter Poll
Governor Newsom has proposed initiatives to support children under 5, but California voters prioritize K-12 education and college affordability over early education. Despite evidence that high-quality early education has a powerful impact on…
What It Takes
This brief discusses the importance of preschool program quality for improving kindergarten readiness, and highlights California Governor Gavin Newsom's efforts to prioritize preschool quality as a signature issue of his administration. The brief…